The ultimate Download source

Hardcover: 1400 pages
Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc; 1 edition (December 15, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 076192731X
ISBN-13: 978-0761927310

From Booklist
This encyclopedia features 400 alphabetically arranged, signed entries on the history and current state of imprisonment in America. The varied topics include prison architecture (Cottage system, Supermax prisons); life in prison (Gangs, Islam in prison, Lawyer’s visits); security (Electronic monitoring, Minimum security); prisoner characteristics (Drug offenders, Mothers in prison, Native American prisoners);

and technicalities of punishment (Habeas corpus, Three-strikes legislation), among others. Although there are entries for some other English-speaking countries, such as Australia and Canada, emphasis is on the U.S. In the introduction, the editor remarks that the high incarceration rate in the U.S. is now an indelible part of the country’s collective cultural imagination.

Entries vary in length but are on average two and a half pages long, end with a list of further readings, and offer applicable cross-references and legal case citations. Text is supplemented with 23 interesting sidebars written by current prisoners and a handful of black-and-white photographs. The entries are preceded by a chronology that lists key legal cases, publications, and prison openings, beginning with the sixteenth century. There are both alphabetical and subject listings of entries. An appendix profiles every federal prison in the U.S., including location, contact information, capacity, visiting times, and recreational facilities. A general index listing people and concepts within main entries and an extensive bibliography and legal case list round out the work.

Current coverage of this topic is much needed. Similar in scope is the now-outdated Encyclopedia of American Prisons (Garland, 1996), which features 160 signed entries written in a slightly less-appealing textbook style. It cites the original 1966 American Correctional Association’s Manual of Correctional Standards, for example, compared to the revised fourth edition from 2002 cited in the Encyclopedia of Prisons & Correctional Facilities. The current Encyclopedia lacks coverage at the state level found in the also dated and briefer Dictionary of American Penology (Greenwood, 1996), but it is more scholarly than the Facts On File Encyclopedia of American Prisons, from 2003, which lacks in-depth bibliographies. Recommended for larger reference collections and libraries supporting criminal justice programs.

Review
“This timely set on prisons and correctional facilities in America covers everything from prisoners, historical personages, organizations, groups, and riots to statistics, concepts, legislation, court cases, and more. It also integrates important issues of race, gender, and class … This very accessible set will replace the current standard in the field … Essential for sociology, criminology, and large general collections.” (LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review) )

The Encyclopedia of Prisons and Correctional Facilities presents the questions surrounding the correctional system in the United States. . . . This set is highly recommended for both public and academic libraries, particularly those supporting programs in criminal justice, political science and governmental affairs. (John R.M. Lawrence, Reference Librarian)

Tags: Encyclopedia of Prisons and Correctional Facilities

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